The Lee Ho-jae Catch-up Interview | OneFootball

A lot has happened since K League United first interviewed Pohang Steelers striker Lee Ho-jae. He suffered a long-term injury, came back stronger than ever, earned his first national team call-up, made his Korea debut, and even scored his first goal for the Taeguk Warriors. Now, he's in the hunt for the K League 1 golden boot. KLU caught up with him to see how he's getting on.

Lee Ho-jae was having the season of his career in 2024. Then, in August, in an away match with Jeonbuk, he suffered an ankle ligament rupture and was ruled out for the rest of the season. A huge blow considering that he was on nine goals and five assists from 27 matches, and was firmly in the golden boot race.

But the disappointment was felt not just because of his stats, but because Lee Ho-jae seemed to represent a rebirth of the prolific, domestic strikers that are so rare to see, due to an obsession with foreign strikers in K League; the leader of a new class of domestic number nines, with his ability to score all types of goals.

Fast forward just over a year, and the now Korean international striker not only looks back to his best, but he looks even stronger. Lee has 13 league goals and is level with Joo Min-kyu in the golden boot race.

He has scored some very good goals this season, but also some very important ones that have been the difference in turning one point into three. He's reliable from the penalty spot, too.

With a meteoric rise and being a good age (24, soon 25), the links to a move to Europe were inevitable. Offers came in for him in the summer from Belgium, but Lee had the confidence and focus to be able to turn them down and concentrate on doing his best for Pohang between now and the end of the season. Respect must be given to a young man who clearly has, in his own mind, how his career should pan out.

There are a few things that are very clear when speaking to Lee Ho-jae. He is confident in his own abilities but not in an arrogant way. There's a calm focus to him, which will only stand him in good stead if or when he does move to Europe or has to deal with the pressures of the Korean national team. If he has a goal disallowed or if he misses a chance, another will come, and he'll score that.

He also knows that he has to learn and improve as much as he can. He used the EAFF E-1 Football Championship as an opportunity to learn from the likes of Joo Min-kyu.

He's also very grounded, and having an ex-footballer as a father will help him stay focused on football. It might be easy for players to get distracted off the field, but he's also at the right club to improve. Pohang has an excellent track record of blooding young talent and giving them the platform to perform. Now it's up to Lee Ho-jae to keep scoring, but K League fans must enjoy watching him play while they can.

Q: A lot has happened since our interview last year. It's been quite a very eventful last sort of year for you. You had that injury setback, which was obviously a big sort of disappointment for you. What was the recovery process like last year?

A: By step. My head coach (Park Tae-ha) told me to, don't rush, don't forget some steps. Just go follow all the steps, and you can come back next year. So don't rush it and just follow the steps. That's only thing I did.

Q: Who was there to help you? Obviously, the coach helped you, I'm sure, but who else was there to help you stay focused and stay nice and positive?

A: First, I didn't do the rehab in the clubhouse. I did something else in Seoul, so I went to the center, like a physical [fitness] center? So those guys helped me out really a lot. Mentally, [it was] very close person, which is my dad, he helped me a lot with my mentality.

Q: After an injury like that, obviously quite a big injury. Sometimes it can take players a while to get back to their best. But you started the season well, very well. Did you have any worries? Were you worried about what might happen?

A: Yeah, I was actually really worried because it was my first big injury that I rested about three months, three or four months. So it was my first rehab in my football career. So, after the injury, I heard that it's gonna be hard to get back to the tempo or actually [with the] technical stuff. So I was worried, but my dad just helped me out with my mental stuff, so I was alright.

Q: From what I've seen, you look even better than last year. It feels, for me, watching you play every week or, most weeks, that you seem to get better and better week by week. What areas of your game, of your play, do you think you've improved the most in?

A: I think the most improved part is when I played near the goal. Near the goal area, the movement and the finishing parts. I think that was the most improved part this year.

Q: I think I read some rumors about teams from Europe interested in signing you. I think I read there was a team in Belgium. Was that true? What made you stay?

A. Yeah, it was true. I know the club that offered the transfer from Belgium is a good team, but I actually want to stay in Pohang to score more goals, to improve my personal stats, and try out again in December.

Q: Is there a particular team or league that you would like to go to?

A: No, actually right now, not a particular team, but I wanna try out for a Europe team anywhere.

Q: Maybe you could go to Austria and link up with Lee Tae-seok again. How did you feel when he got his move to Europe?

A: I think it was a good move for Tae-seok because he's young, and the faster he goes out to Europe and the faster he gets his career going. So by his move, I was more motivated to go out to Europe as well. He was a good player, so he deserved to go Europe.

Q: He's someone else who has improved a lot at Pohang, because he looks like a different player compared to what he was like at FC Soul. And he's someone who was able to get into the national team. That's something that you did. You got yourself into the national team for the EAFF. What was that experience like for you?

A: It was a dream come true because when I first started football, my goal was to go to Europe. And then my second goal was to make my debut for the Korean national team.

So that was my first dream come true. So it was a really special moment for me.

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Q: At what point, or how did you find out that you've been called up? Did you get a call from the coach, or did somebody from Pohang tell you?

A: I first found out because it was the [player liaison officer] from Pohang, he called me and, I got picked for the EFF.

Q: Were you expecting it, or was it a big surprise?

A: It was a surprise for me.

Q: Interesting. You scored as well. You scored your first goal in that win over Hong Kong. What was that feeling like to see the ball go in the back of the net and you've got your first goal for your country?

A: It was an unforgettable moment for me because making a debut for the national team is not an easy thing to do, but scoring for the national team is I think it's a really hard thing to do for a soccer player. So it was an unforgettable moment for me.

Q: You are a sort of number-nine type striker, so if you're called up, there's a bit of pressure to score goals; you have to make an impact. Did you feel that at all?

A: Yeah, I felt it because I'm a striker and scoring goals is what strikers have to do, so I had the pressure, but every single game I go in, I have the same pressure, so I just went there and scored a goal. That's all.

Q: In the K League at the moment, at the time of recording (24th September), it's 13 goals. That's joint second with Pablo Sabbag and Joo Min-kyu, so obviously you're doing very well. You're in the hunt for the deukjeomwang, the Golden Boot. How important would that be for you to win the top goal scorer award this season?

A: I think personal stats are an important part, but I think before that, making my team go to a higher level or secure a place in the final six is the most important part for me right now. Because if we go higher up the table, then my personal [stats], that's gonna be better. So that's why I'm just focusing on my team.

Q: What's the target in the league for Pohang this season? Just try and get into the ACL Elite again.

A: Yeah. We had the meeting today, and the head coach (Park Tae-ha) said, 'Let's go for the second place for the ACL Elite (qualification).'

Q: I mentioned Joo Min-kyu because he is on the same number of goals as you. He was in that squad, the national team squad with you. He's obviously a very experienced striker, somebody who's won the Golden Boot more than once, he's won the K League. What was it like to train with him? He seems like a good role model for young strikers like you.

A: I first met him in the national team, and I just learned how he played, how he managed his body, and how he sleeps, eats, whatever he does. I tried to do that, to copy that because he's a good player and he played a long time in the K League and he is a successful soccer player. So I try to do everything he does in the time we got together.

Q: Did you ask him, or is he the kind of person who will just offer advice, for free without asking?

A: Yeah, it's free because he's the kind player. He tried to support me. He's a really kind player.

Q: That's nice. As a former Ulsan player giving advice to a Pohang player, that's very nice of him to do that. Talking about the national team, there are some friendly matches coming up in October and November; there'll be more next year as the coach gets ready for the World Cup. Do you think that the coach is paying attention to the K League strikers? Do you think that you've got a good chance of being in the squad for these friendlies and maybe even the World Cup?

A: I think, if I do good, if I keep this performance for the last six months, then I think I have a good chance because my team is doing good, and my personal stats is actually good. So I think I have a chance, but I have to improve more so that the head coach wants to picks me.

Q: The Champions League Two will be a useful competition for you to learn a bit more. The coach did a lot of rotation, though, for the first game against BG Pathum United. Is the ACL Two an important competition for Pohang this season? What has the coach talked about in that regard?

A: We did a rotation because, the game against Jeju was very important because it was a must-win game to secure a place in the final six. We have three games left, or two, yeah, three games left, and we get divided to like first to six and seven to 12th, so we had to win to secure a place in the final six. I think the head coach wants the young players to perform well in the ACL Two and the best 11 to rest for the Jeju game.

Q: How do you unwind and relax? So say for example, you score the winner, what do you do after the game? Do you celebrate or do you just have a quiet meal with friends, or how do you relax after a sort of big game like that?

A: I think I just relax with my parents because parents comes to every single game I play in K League, so I met my parents and just talk to them, and that's all.

Q: What do you do after training, usually? A lot of players will play video games and will sleep or play golf. What is it that you do in your spare time?

A: We train in the morning, so after lunch I just sometimes go down to get a treatment. And after the treatment, I just have a chat with my friends or the older players or sleep.

Q: Generally, on a match day, what do you do to get ready mentally? Do you listen to the same music? I know you, you told me you drink white Monster energy drink.

A: Nothing special, but I just listen to my music. And whenever I go out to the field to warm up before I just I just listen to the song called The World's Greatest.

Q: Generally speaking, amongst the players at Pohang, what do people think about ACL Two? Because obviously it's not the ACL Elite, but it's a competition that you could win.

A: Yeah. We are trying to get two, we were trying to get two good results in two matches, like in K League and ACL Two. Right now, in ACL Two, I think our young players gonna do well, but as we go up the tournament, I think all our players are gonna play in the ACL Two. But right now, I think our young guys are doing well in ACL Two.

Q: This is a strange question, but do you ever read your NamuWiki page?

A: No, I don't.

Q: I was reading yours yesterday, and it says on 'playing style' that you get caught offside a lot, which means a lot of canceled goals. Is that fair?

A: No, that's unfair because I think they just put that in because of the Anyang game.

Q: VAR is such a big part of football these days, fans can't really fully celebrate the team's goal 'cause the goal might get canceled. But as a player and as a striker, what is that like when you score and you think, 'Oh, maybe that was offside or maybe there's a foul.'

A: It's actually pretty nervous after scoring a goal and waiting for the decision. But after, if the decision is, if I score a goal and it says 'offside' after VAR, I just say, "Maybe I'll go next time. I can score another goal because I'm a striker."

Q: It also says on your NamuWiki page that you have good close control, so are good at moving away from players in tight spaces. Is that fair?

A: That's fair.

Q: A good assessment. I wanna ask you, just lastly, about foreign players, because you told me last time that you'd had to wait and get your chance because the club would always buy a foreign striker. Yesterday, there was a big meeting to try and decide whether they will make more foreign player spots in K League. What do you think about that?

A: First of all, I think it's my personal opinion, but. I think making more places for Korean players (is better), because young players playing will make the K League better for the young players. Because, bringing more foreigner players, it's gonna be good for the K League, more good for the level of the K League, but after all, there's 11 players playing in one game, and playing like six or seven foreign players, it's a foreign place. It's not gonna be K League. I think it's going to be another league.